The Two-Way

6:24 am

Fri February 15, 2013

Book News: DOJ Approves Penguin, Random House Merger

Books from the Penguin publishing company are displayed in a book store in London.

Leon NealAFP/Getty Images

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

The Justice Department approved the proposed merger between publishers Random House and Penguin, which will likely take place in late 2013 and give the new entity control over about a quarter of the English-language market. Other antitrust authorities such as the European Commission and the Canadian Competition Bureau have yet to give their approval. Meanwhile, the publishing world is still reeling from the disappointing news that the new company won't be called "Random Penguin."

Randi Zuckerberg, former Facebook marketing director and sister of CEO Mark Zuckerberg, signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins for a memoir (called Dot Complicated) as well as a children's book.

Vampires in the Lemon Grove author Karen Russell on meeting her favorite writers: "Recently I got to meet Louise Erdrich, and what I really wanted to do was to thank her for creating worlds that have such a deep spiraling life. But what came out of my mouth was something on the level of: 'Hey, Louise, are these pimentos in the dip?' "

The New Yorker's Carolyn Kormannon explores the "intricate and raw" erotica of John Donne — who was described by a contemporary as "a great visitor of ladies."